1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an in-line system for processing textile material, such as sheeting and the like.
2. Description of Related Art
Ordinarily, in the preparation of textile products, textiles are woven and formed into a roll known as a greige goods roll. Thereafter, the roll is run through various processes where the woven textile may be bleached, sized and exposed to other various finishing processes. Typically, a “finished” roll is sent off to a cut and sew operation where pieces of fabric are cut from the roll and then sewn to form the desired textile product, such as a bed sheet, pillowcase, or clothing product. In many cases, that final product is then shipped to the customers who then must (or rather should) wash the product before use to be sure that all of the chemistry involved from the finishing processes has been removed.
In certain instances, it is desirable to pre-launder textiles before they are shipped to customers. For example, in the current state of the art as we understand it, there are pre-washed jeans. These jeans are washed in batches in large washing machines after the cut and sew operation, which means the laundering operation not only includes the extra weight of any of the stitching threads, (and other items like tags and/or zippers that may be present), but also the added problems of handling all of those piece goods as they come out of the laundry system. In another example, finished textiles may be washed before construction of the final product; such washing may define a continuous process or batch process. As we understand it, when finished textiles are washed before garment construction, they are generally sent from a point A, i.e., a finishing area, to an off-site or segregated point B, which defines a continuous or batch washing area, then to an off-site or segregated point C, which defines a drying area. This misaligned and disjointed arrangement means that the textile operation not only involves costly and untimely extra steps of transferring textiles from one location to another (which includes, for example, multiple unrolling and re-rolling of rolled textiles), but also the added problems of determining how to handle and transfer the textiles as they come out of each area.